Explosion rocks Quail Valley

State Troopers, firefighters, Texas Department of Transportation personnel and other rescue personnel watched the explosion caused by a propane truck that crashed Tuesday on State Highway 208 from more than a mile away. The explosion of the truck, which held about 8,500 gallons of liquefied propane gas, was felt as far as 12 miles away. The driver, the truck's lone occupant, died in the incident.

The driver of a Schneider Distributing Co. truck, transporting about 8,500 gallons of liquefied propane gas from Robert Lee to San Angelo, died as a result of a rollover crash this afternoon on Highway 208 at South Red Creek, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

The truck caught fire and exploded, rattling windows as far away as College Hills and setting off a flurry of grass fires in the rural area near Quail Valley. A column of smoke was visible from San Angelo.

The truck crashed into the creekbed for reasons that are unclear. When emergency personnel arrived, the cab was engulfed in flames, DPS Trooper Shawn Baxter said.

Rescue workers approached the burning truck but determined an explosion was imminent and backed away, he said. The driver's name, age and hometown were not available.

The truck exploded shortly afterward, about 1:30 p.m., sending a massive smoke cloud skyward, scorching the ground in the area and igniting dry grass.

A Wall Volunteer Fire Department chief at the scene estimated that the grass fire burned 3 square miles, threatening some mobile homes. Firefighters from several departments were working on bringing the fire under control.

The explosion pushed the cab under the road, charred the asphalt on the road surface and burned away the posts on the guardrails, leaving the steel rails to collapse on the road shoulder.

It is not known whether the driver was killed in the crash, the fire or the explosion. Schneider Distributing is based in San Angelo.

The Texas Department of Transportation closed Highway 208 indefinitely between Farm Road 2105 and Farm Road 2662, said Karen Threlkeld, a public affairs spokeswoman for the agency. Motorists coming south from Robert Lee on Highway 208 will be detoured at FM 2662, she said, and motorists going north from San Angelo will be detoured at FM 2105.